Archive for Galle
November 6, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Advocacy, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Colombo, Districts, Galle, Gampaha, Hambantota, Human Rights, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Jaffna, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Media and Communications, Moneragala, Nuwara Eliya, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Pollonnaruwa, Post-War, Puttlam, Reconciliation, Trincomalee, Vavuniya, War Crimes | by Dr. P. Saravanamuttu
Whilst it is not clear as to whether we would be voting in both the presidential and general elections on the same day, it is clear that we will be voting in at least one of them in the next three months, followed soon thereafter by the other. Most likely it will be the presidential elections since it is the president who has to decide and since he is much more popular than his party. Moreover, we have been told that he is willing to sacrifice, if necessary, two years of his first term in order to secure a second and a parliamentary majority nearest to the heart’s desire.
All elections are important and these will be no exception. It is worth …
October 11, 2009 at 4:15 pm · Categories: Galle, Hambantota, Matara, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Kusal Perera
What now about the Rajapaksa regime, after the South ?
It was Velupillai Prabhakaran the late Tamil Tiger leader who once said the Sinhala people have only a short memory. Perhaps it is so and it seems quite in order at this elections, where the war against the Tamil Tigers with Prabhakaran projected as the icon of “terrorism” was turned into a glorifying victorious vote puller.
While the war was being waged with only State witnesses to the battle allowed to get on the dock, the Rajapaksa regime started screwing the opposition with provincial council elections, beginning with the bifurcated Eastern province in 2008 May. The going was good for the Rajapaksas, with the main opposition UNP stuck with a fear psychosis …
September 22, 2009 at 10:42 am · Categories: Advocacy, Galle, Peace and Conflict, Post-War, Reconciliation | by Deborah Philip
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“Where is the hope?” is a question that the writer encountered quite a few times when she asked people to pose with the HOPE board. The culture of impunity prevalent in post-war Sri Lanka paints a rather depressing picture of a country that has lost the ability to hope. Human rights continue to be violated, there is an upsurge in criminal activity, media freedom is severely restricted and nationalist rhetoric continues to be the theme of those in the highest echelons of power. Hope has been replaced with a sense of hopelessness and apathy that has gripped society. In order for positive change to …
February 15, 2008 at 5:55 pm · Categories: Colombo, Galle, Media and Communications | by Michael Roberts
9 February 2008
2008 saw the second festival at Galle, “Let’s Play with Words.” Those present the previous year remarked that it was more varied and incorporated more Sri Lankan authors, both local and expatriate. Implicit in the title, of course, is the understanding that the focus is on creative literature in English, not French, Sinhala, Tamil or pidgin. Implicit in the title, of course, is the understanding that the focus is on creative literature in English, not French, Sinhala, Tamil or pidgin. Equally implicit, is the bracketing out of social science productions in English or other languages (that “heavy stuff,” you know).
Two blokes remarked that the whole affair was “colonial.” Yes, there was a distinct whiff of the …
February 8, 2008 at 10:23 am · Categories: Galle, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance | by Sophist
Recently I had the privilege of spending my Sunday morning with an eminent panel of academics discussing ‘Language, as a Pathway to Peace’. The Galle Literary Festival is an excellent event and its willingness to venture into the topical and relevant, is praiseworthy. Anyone who has followed the ethnic (or is it just ‘terrorist’) conflict in Sri Lanka will understand the hugely divisive role language has played in its history. It was interesting – although not entirely satisfying from a hopeful’s perspective – to hear the role of language as a tool for peace, being discussed by a host of reputed Sri Lankan minds.
The panel consisted of Professor Neloufer De Mel, of the English Department of the University of …
December 13, 2007 at 3:08 pm · Categories: Batticaloa, Colombo, Disaster Management, Galle, Hambantota, Trincomalee | by Montage
Shanaka Amarasinghe
Nearly three years have passed since the devastation of Boxing Day 2004. Those three years should have sufficed for grief to transform into resolve, for shock to become measured response and for altruism to become tangible benefit. It is impossible to quantify, despite the diverse and often varied reports available, how much has been done, and by whom. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile considering the societal impact that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and the good and/or evil that has been precipitated by their presence.
The aftermath of the tsunami saw a global outpouring of shock and dollars. The amount of tourists and expatriates affected in the South Asian region saw the world unite in its reaction to …
September 13, 2007 at 8:23 pm · Categories: Ampara, Batticaloa, Colombo, Disaster Management, Galle, Hambantota, Jaffna, Media and Communications, Trincomalee | by Groundviews
Chamath Ariyadasa
The coverage by the media of yesterday’s earthquake near Indonesia might be of interest to some readers, and as the editor of JNW, Sri Lanka’s first SMS news agency, I thought of penning my personal opinion and raising some issues that could be discussed further.
My biggest concern at the moment, as a journalist, is getting access to the initial tip off from authorities on an impending disaster and the subsequent official news messages in a timely manner so that they can be passed on to the public as fast as possible.
There isn’t an email or SMS alert system in place, that I know of, that could easily meet this need. I know of the Met Dept website (http://www.meteo.slt.lk/Tswarn.html) …
September 12, 2007 at 6:45 pm · Categories: Ampara, Disaster Management, Galle, Hambantota, Jaffna, Kalutara, Puttlam, Trincomalee, Vavuniya | by Groundviews
12 Sep 2007 12:31:03 GMT
Source: Reuters
COLOMBO, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka issued a tsunami alert on Wednesday for its north, south and eastern districts following a major earthquake in Indonesia, the National Disaster Management Centre said.
“We have issued a warning for the south, north and east after the quake,” Keerthi Ekanayake, an official at the centre told Reuters. Sri Lanka was battered by the 2004 tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean rim.
- Reuters story ends -
Update #1 (7.00pm): Read the alerts issued on JNW and also visit their site for updates.
Update #2 (7.15pm): Reuters news alert SMS thru Dialog says “Small tsunami hit Indonesia’s Padang, Sri Lanka expects small tsunami by 7.30 – Disaster Management Centre”
Update #3: (7.34pm): …
July 18, 2007 at 11:31 pm · Categories: Ampara, Batticaloa, Colombo, Disaster Management, Galle, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Puttlam | by sam
The 28 minute documentary “Wars and Waves: Sri Lanka’s internally displaced” that was produced by COHRE, and directed and written by me, is available online.
There was a small private launch a week ago in Colombo. COHRE plans to do a larger public screening followed by a discussion in the coming weeks.
The purpose of the film is to highlight Sri Lanka’s IDP issue. The film will be used by COHRE as an advocacy tool, and by its network partners to provoke discussion about the issue. It’s primarily aimed at an international audience.
Description of film:
In Sri Lanka, a natural disaster and ongoing conflict have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Those who lost everything to …
July 13, 2007 at 7:15 am · Categories: Colombo, Galle, Media and Communications | by Sunanda Deshapriya
My article is based on vignettes of commuting in public transport. The first short story is on a trip down South to see my mother and the travails of a journey from Galle to Ambalangoda. My second story is on my journey to work on Monday, on a bus plying the 101 route. On Tuesday, not only was I short-changed, but I was nearly killed alighting from a bus which did not even offer a ticket in return for my fare. On another journey from Colombo to Ibbagamuwa, I was unfortunately entreated to the choicest Sinhala expletives throughout the journey by those in charge of the bus.
I have written many letters to successive Transport Ministers through the media. Since my …
July 5, 2007 at 7:51 am · Categories: Batticaloa, Colombo, Disaster Management, Galle, Human Rights, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict | by Groundviews
Tune in and turn up the volume!
VOR Radio aims to enhance social, political and cultural cohesion in Sri Lanka through podcasts in Sinhala, Tamil and English with a special focus on civil society initiatives and perspectives on peace, reconciliation and democracy. Some of the latest additions to our growing collection of podcasts from Sri Lanka are:
Coastal Rising
Young Asia Television (YATV) has brought together district-based teams of journalists and civil society activists in the East and South of Sri Lanka to highlight tsunami recovery from the community perspective. The series draws attention to how citizens, local government, relief agencies and the donor community have risen to the challenge of rebuilding livelihoods and infrastructure …
April 23, 2007 at 4:07 pm · Categories: Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Human Rights, Matara, Peace and Conflict, Trincomalee, Vavuniya | by Groundviews
වර්ෂ1996ෙය්දි ඔස්ෙටුිලියාවට එෙරහිව ශුි ලංකාව ලද ෙලා්ක කුසලාන ජයගුහණය දැන් දැන් අපෙග් මතකය අඑත් කරනවා ෙනාඅනුමානයි.ෙමි දිනවල බටහිර ඉන්දිය ෙකාෙදවි දුපත්හි පැවැත්ෙවන 9 වන ෙලා්ක කුසලාන තරගාවලිෙය් අර්ධ අවසන් තරගය සදහා ෙමම මස 24 ෙවනිදා ශුි ලංකාව සහභාගිවන තරගය පැවැත්ෙවන ෙහයිනි.
තත්වය ෙමෙස් තිබියදි සුපුරැදු පරිදි ශුිලංකානු කුිකටි කණ්ඩායමට එෙරහිව ෙකරිෙගන යන උද්ෙඝා්ෂණයන් සහ මඩ පුහාරයන් අාරමිභවි තුිබිම අප කවිරැත් පුදුමයට පත් ෙනාවන බව මාෙග් අදහසයි.1995 වර්ෂෙය්දි ඔස්ෙටුිලියාෙවිදි පැවැත්වු ෙබන්සන් ෙහජස් තරගාවලිෙය්දි ඔස්ෙටුිලියානු විනිසුරැ ඩැරල් ෙහයාර් විසින් මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන් පන්දුව දමා ගසන්ෙනක් බව පුකාශ කරන ලදි. අවසානෙය්දි කුිකටි කවුන්සිලය පැවැත්වු පරික්ෂණයකින්්් පසුව මුරලිදරන් නිෙදාස්කරන ලදි.1999 වර්ෂෙය්දි එංගලන්තය ෙටස්ටි තරගයකින් පරාජය කිරිෙමන්පසුව එංගලන්ත පුවත් පත් වලට සහ කුිකටි ෙලා්ලින්ට පින්සිදු වන්නට ශුි ලංකානු …
March 9, 2007 at 8:46 am · Categories: Anuradhapura, Colombo, Galle, Hambantota, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Mannar, Matale, Matara, Moneragala, Nuwara Eliya, Peace and Conflict, Pollonnaruwa | by Pradeep Peiris
The latest survey conducted by the Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives reveals that Sri Lankans express mixed opinion on the recent crossover by the 18 UNP parliamentarians along with 6 Muslim Congress MPs. 37% of people approve of this move while the same percentage disapproves. Interestingly, a quarter of Sri Lankans are either unaware of the crossover or do not have an opinion on whether to approve or disapprove of it; despite the chaos it has triggered in many corners that is yet to be settled.
In the wake of numerous interpretations and reinterpretation of the present political situation as a result of the recent crossover by the political elites, the authors of …
March 5, 2007 at 11:49 pm · Categories: Batticaloa, Colombo, Galle, Human Rights, Human Security, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Trincomalee | by Chamath
Lets talk about white vans, disappearances and abductions. How much do people who don’t speak in Tamil know about these subjects, and conversely how much do people who speak in Tamil know about these things? I will get to these odd questions in a bit.
Being a Colombo-based Sinhalese person, I found the occasional reference to white vans, in the last year or so, curious but I didn’t come across a clear description of what it was in the media. The media and people I talk to are my only sources of news about the world.
My best guess and reaction was “ah, the van was used in an abduction! I wonder why the vehicle was a white van. Don’t …
January 24, 2007 at 8:25 pm · Categories: Advocacy, Galle, Hambantota, Human Security, Jaffna, Peace and Conflict | by Sunanda Deshapriya
Writing through shackles – Notes of a Citizen Journalist
I my column for Ravaya & Groundviews this week I explore the killing of a citizen, a priest, in Jaffna. The manner in which it which it was reported in the Sinhala media, and the occurrence of similar killings elsewhere in the country, I argue is indicative of the dire peril we are facing with regard to human rights and human dignity in Sri Lanka.
Read the full article here -Â The Death of a Priest
January 7, 2007 at 9:22 pm · Categories: Colombo, Galle, Human Security, Peace and Conflict | by foobar
The south is in turmoil after bombs in buses. Allegedly the work of the LTTE, it’s bringing home, once again, the terror & anxiety that many of us thought we had left behind after the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002. Over 20 people have died in the two attacks, scores injured. Once again, civilians are the target of choice – and not just in the North and East. While its doubtful whether investigations into these bombings will ever find the culprits and hold them accountable under the law, the bombings have re-ignited the debate on combating terrorism in Sri Lanka and how we should respond to these attacks. For over 25 years we’ve been talking about this issue, and these bombings, …
December 27, 2006 at 10:03 pm · Categories: Disaster Management, Galle, IDPs and Refugees | by sam
A couple of days ago (26th), I travelled along the South Coast, leaving Colombo early in the morning. I was with a friend who had come here to film some stuff relating to the second year since the tsunami. A translator also accompanied us.
Our first stop was Peraliya – that place where the wave got the train killing some 1,200 people. To mark the second anniversary, a giant Buddha statue (based on the one that was blown up by the Taliban) was going to be ‘opened’ by the President and other digniteries. We didn’t want to hang around, and kept heading down the coast.
Around 9am, we came across a small church. They were going to hold a …
December 27, 2006 at 6:37 am · Categories: Colombo, Galle, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict, Poverty | by Chamath
I would like to throw out a few ideas for those who come from a peacebuilding paradigm for discussion if possible.
My recent chat with a long-time supporter of the JVP, now aged about 50, driver of a three-wheeler who had two children, helped me see more clearly his point of view.
After working at a ceramic factory for 20 years, where he progressed to being a skilled operator of the kiln, he was layed off along with everyone else at that plant with little compensation. He received a salary of under Rs10,000 a month at the time he was layed
off.
He didnât find an opportunity to use his skills elsewhere and after being treated badly by another employer, he resorted to driving …
